The Reserve Bank of India has kept its policy repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, despite calls for action as an intense cash shortage threatens to slam the brakes on the world's fastest growing major economy.

Analysts had expected a rate cut of at least 25 bps after the country scrapped two high denomination bank notes to thwart counterfeiters and undo the country's underground economy.

The decision to withdraw 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes in India as an "anti-corruption drive" may have been applauded by many across the country, but low-income earners, tourists and those dependent on ordinary cash have been bearing the brunt of the new policy.

"There have been massive lines outside banks to deposit cash, endless queues outside the ATM machines and these machines have run out of cash," Delhi-resident Sarita Das told CNBC.

Asian markets fell again today as investors stayed edgy after a disappointing start to the U.S earnings season and fears of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite tracked 0.5% lower. South Korea's Kospi managed a 0.1% gain, despite a 1% decline in Samsung (OTC:SSNLF, OTC:SSNNF). The bruised electronics multinational accounts for about 18% of the Kospi.

India has appointed Urjit Patel as its next central bank chief, in a decision that many economists and executives hope is a sign of New Delhi's commitment to the inflation-fighting policies of departing governor Raghuram Rajan.

Patel is currently a deputy governor in charge of monetary policy at the Reserve Bank of India. He has been appointed for three years and will begin his term once Rajan steps down on Sept. 4.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week is expected to announce a successor to Raghuram Rajan, the country's departing central bank governor who is returning to academia.

The two front-runners for the RBI's top post are Subir Gokarn, a former deputy governor who's currently India's representative at the IMF, and Urjit Patel, a current deputy governor of the central bank.

In its last meeting under the helm of Governor Raghuram Rajan, the Reserve Bank of India left monetary policy steady, keeping the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged at 6.5% and 6%, respectively.

Rajan became a popular figure in a country where central bankers typically stay outside the limelight, winning plaudits in some quarters for nudging banks to do more about their bad debts but was criticized by some for not cutting rates aggressively enough.

India's upper house of parliament has unanimously approved the creation of a national sales tax a decade after the move was first proposed, the biggest legislative victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he took office in 2014.

The GST bill now has to be endorsed by the lower house and then ratified by at least half of all states, a process projected to be concluded before the end of the year.

India's parliament will vote today on a much-awaited Goods and Services Tax bill, which seeks to streamline the country's fragmented tax system with one levy.

Businesses have been lobbying for a single tax rate as it would reduce costs, particularly for shipping goods across state borders, and analysts say the move could boost India's economic growth by up to 2 percentage points.

India's central bank governor Raghuram Rajan, feted by foreign investors but under pressure from political opponents at home, stunned government officials on Saturday by announcing he would step down after just one three-year term.

In a letter to RBI staff, Rajan said he planned to return to academia, even as he noted two of his actions - the creation of a monetary policy committee to set interest rates and the clean-up of the heavily indebted banking sector - remained unfinished.

The Reserve Bank of India has cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5%, making a widely expected reduction to bring the figure to its lowest in more than five years.

But in a surprise move, the RBI also raised the reverse repo by 25 basis points to 6.0%, while taking measures to ensure more availability of cash in the banking system.

Heading Down Under: Australia's central bank left interest rates at a record low 2.0%, where they have been for nearly a year, citing evidence of continued growth at home despite an unhelpful rise in the local dollar.

Indian equities jumped the most in 30 months after the government stuck to its fiscal deficit target in the Union Budget for the year starting April 1, raising hopes the pledge would spark a move by the Reserve Bank of India to cut key policy rates.

A commitment by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP is also boosting expectations it would raise sentiment among foreign investors following heavy selling this year.